When you have a restaurant or butcher's shop, you must know about the different cuts of meat. We assume you want to serve your customers the best meats available, so we'll teach you everything you need to know, from what meat toughness is and why it matters, to the different methods of meat tenderization to improve the quality of your cuts. Check out our guide on identifying the toughest cuts of meat below.

What Is Meat Tenderness and Toughness?

One of the best ways to identify the toughest cuts of meat is to discern what makes the meat tender. Meat tenderness is influenced by many factors, including the concentration of the connective tissue, the pH balance, and even muscle contraction post-rigor mortis. Poor quality or old steak is also tough and chewy. It can be tough if it's too lean, undercooked, or overcooked. Overall, it indicates poor quality cooking or meat choice, which doesn't reflect well on your business.

Why Is It Important?

Meat toughness can greatly impact your customer's experience at your restaurant or takeout. No one wants to cut their meat multiple times so that they can finally eat it. This negative customer experience can drive them to go to other restaurants. It can also give your restaurant a reputation for poor-quality cuts. Generally, a tough cut of meat doesn't taste the best, and most people consider it low quality. Alternately, there's nothing better than a tender, juicy steak. If you've ever gone to a new restaurant and experienced a perfect steak, it's always a pleasant surprise and leaves you wanting to return to that restaurant again and again. You want this for a business owner, so take care of your meat choices.

How To Identify Tough Meat?

Measure its distance from the spot in the middle of the animal's back. As you move down and out, it gets tougher. There are also visual cues that indicate the toughness of a muscle. You can look at marbling when you're at the grocery store. A steak with a lot of marbling—the fat that runs the length of the meat—particularly beef--makes it juicier and tender. Generally, the weight-bearing limbs the animal use tend to be tougher.

Think of it this way—these are the parts used the most, similar to how humans use our biceps and hamstrings. Muscles are built for toughness because they carry the animal through its lifecycle. They also have more connective tissue to do their job well. The animal uses certain muscles more than others, and you can bet these muscles will be the toughest.

Tenderness is marked by softness. It's easy to cut with your knife and fork. It's juicier as well. The toughest cuts of meat can feel like eating jerky.

Methods of Tenderization

Luckily, you don't have to stand for tough meat. Mechanical tenderization is the oldest method. You take a professional meat tenderizer and pound or pierce the meat. It's similar to chewing the meat before you swallow it. However, despite its mechanical precision, it can be a ham-fisted method: you aren't just breaking up the connective tissue that makes the meat tough, but meat fibers also.

Thermal tenderization is when you use heat to break down connective tissues. This gives your meat a sort of melt-in-your-mouth texture. Thermal tenderization can heat the meat over 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which breaks the collagen into gelatin. This replaces lost moisture and surrounds the fibers with tender gel. The heat can be dry when it’s grilled. It can also be wet when it’s braised. Regardless, you need to apply the heat slowly and carefully. Otherwise, the outer surface will burn before the collagen in the center breaks down.

The final kind of tenderization is enzymatic tenderization. Enzymes are biological molecules that increase the rate of a reaction. Natural enzymes in meats help break down collagen. This creates tender, flavorful meat without altering the meat fibers. However, this method takes a while, and you lose much meat volume.

Different Types of Meat

All animals have tough and tender areas in their bodies. We'll give you a breakdown of each animal so that you can choose what kind of meat you should tenderize and what type of meat you should leave alone. We'll also provide some suggestions regarding dishes you can make, even from the most tender part of the animal. 

Your Beef

You can find beef's toughest parts around the shanks, shoulders, neck, brisket, and rounds. Round, in particular, is incredibly tough. This is why it's usually tenderized and turned into ground beef, along with other muscle cuts and trimmings. As stated prior, fat and marbling are key indicators of tenderness. This is because of the microscopic fat cells in various muscle fibers. Without these fat cells, your beef will be tough as jerky. While in many cases, a tough cut of meat isn't the best, in some cases, it's perfect when you're trying to implement it into a dish.  

Cattle size also governs meat toughness in places that are hardier than you would expect. Beef tongue is a delicacy in certain Mexican cuisines, though it's tough given how much cows use it during grazing. It has a unique flavor, and it's prepared in numerous ways. Braised oxtail is very common in Haitian and Jamaican meals. This cut is tough since it swishes flies and insects away when the animal is still alive. 

Your Pork

Your toughest pork cuts will be shanks, rounds, and shoulders like beef. Shoulders will be a bit more tender because the animal doesn't have to carry as much weight. Hog hind legs are similar to beef rounds and are much more tender than other tough cuts. They're typically processed and thinly cooked. A pork belly is one of the toughest cuts of meat on a hog. This may seem pretty counterintuitive for anyone who’s eaten delicious bacon, but if you cure it with salt, it'll practically fall apart.

Your Sheep

While mutton is difficult to find in the US, a young lamb will have a natural tenderness. Lamb rib chops are particularly beloved. They're made of tough muscle surrounded by flavorful fat. This is a boon since you can let the fat render through the muscle. Make sure you cook it well enough to break down its protein structure which coats the meat, liquifies the fat, and makes it softer.

These are just a few amazing ways to identify and utilize the various cuts of meat you'll find in your restaurant. Here at Pro Restaurant Equipment, we carry all the supplies you'll need for your restaurant, whether you're processing or tenderizing your meats. Shop Pro Restaurant Equipment today!